Eritrean festival in Sweden is set to kick off on Thursday amid tight security. Last year, the the festival turned into a scene of deadly fighting between Eritrean rival groups.
Eritrean festival in Stockholm Sweden is one of the largest Eritrean festivals organized in Europe. Eritrean Cultural Association organizes this program. Alem Teklegiorgis is leading the group which is organizing it.
Police is making extra ordinary preparations for this year’s festival which is set to start on Thursday. It will continue for 4 days. Apart from local Jarva police, police from other areas are also being deployed in the area. Eritrean opposition groups have obtained a permit to protest in this area. Police officials are planning how to keep the two groups apart.
Last year dozens of Eritrean opposition activists, mainly from Brigade Nhamedu, stormed the festival. They set tents on fire. Around 100 people including police officials were injured in the incident. Opposition groups launched a campaign to stop this year’s festival too. But the government allowed the festival to be held. According to Alem Teklegiorgis, they will deploy their own security guards too. The festival is expected to raise around €2.1 million. The total cost of organizing it stands around €1.6 million.
Opposition groups accuse festival organizer of being backed by Eritrean government. They say Eritrean government is involved in transnational repression on Eritreans living abroad and such festivals serve as tools for Eritrean government to implement its agenda.
The pro Eritrean government diaspora accuse Tigray People’s Liberation Front TPLF of backing Brigade Nhamedu and other Eritrean opposition groups.
Brigade Nhamedu, the Eritrean opposition group formed more than a year ago, has been involved in dozens of attacks on such Eritrean festivals in Europe, Israel, Canada and the US. Last week, 9 Eritreans, mostly from Brigade Nhamedu group, were sentenced to prison for their role in storming a program organized in February this year by pro Eritrean government community in Hague the Netherlands.
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